Little GOP love for Obama jobs plan

Barack Obama urged Republicans and Democrats to work together to pass jobs legislation during Wednesday’s State of the Union address – but the poisonous atmosphere in the Senate makes the proposal there about as popular as the root canal the president joked about in his speech.

Obama plans to introduce a package of tax incentives for small businesses on Friday, designed to win some Republican support as Democrats shift their agenda to focus on job creation and economic growth.

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But on Thursday, Republicans indicated that the first real test of Obama’s call to end the "tired old battles" had already fallen flat, as Republicans began voicing their opposition even before Democrats have managed to introduce a bill.

"It's just another increase in the deficit," said Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain. "It's stunning to say we're going to have a freeze in 2011 that could cut $15 billion and then pivot into a ‘jobs bill’ – we used to call them stimulus bills – that could be $80 or $115 billion in addition to the deficit."

Republicans seized on Obama's pledge to use $30 billion of the money Wall Street banks have repaid through the TARP program to fund his jobs initiatives as a sign of Democratic disingenuousness.

"Sounds like another raid on the TARP funds, which is just running up our national credit card," said Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas). "The president wants to use it as a slush fund to pay for a jobs program."

Those funds, say Republicans, are mandated by law to be used to reduce the national debt.

"That's a fraud," said Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.). "To claim that you can use it in some other way is misdirection."

As Democrats are working out a package of targeted tax cuts, infrastructure investments, and small business loans, they have low expectations for support from their Republican colleagues, given the GOP’s near unanimous opposition to most of the Obama administration's major initiatives over the past year.

"The fact is that we haven't gotten much support for anything," said Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.), who postponed the release of the Democratic proposal to integrate the proposals announced by Obama on Wednesday night. "They've indicated that they would like not to do this – their remedy for everything would be significant tax cuts.”

Democrats hope the new package will force Republicans into a tough choice between backing a key piece of Obama's agenda or opposing a jobs bill in the midst of a deep economic recession.

"Anyone who ultimately votes against a jobs bill in a climate in which it is the number one issue facing families in the country will face consequences," said Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee chief Bob Menendez.

"It'll be so glaringly apparent to the American people if we don't get a few Republican votes to support us that they are not interested in any success to the American if they are continually going to say no," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

Cornyn, chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said the jobs package was unlikely to cause Republicans any pain at the polls.

"If there's one unequivocal message out of Massachusetts, it's stop the overspending and racking up debt even for programs the public might otherwise have sympathy for," he said.

Several Republicans indicated that the problems went far deeper than just jobs, saying they doubted the sincerity of Obama's Wednesday night call for bipartisanship.

"On one hand, he's saying end the partisanship, while he brought his campaign manager to I guess have campaigns all day every day," said Nebraska Sen. Mike Johanns, referencing the recent announcement that David Plouffe, who headed Obama’s 2008 presidential run, would work with White House team on this year’s midterm election.

"He's violating everything he said in the past," said Oklahoma Republican Jim Inhofe, citing the administration’s new openness to abolishing the capital gains tax on small business investments and allowing off-shore drilling, two positions most Democrats oppose. "I just can't believe he's going to make the turn-around."